My 10 picks would be :

1. Uri Geller .,Never thought I would choose an orange one but this is a wonderfully tall , strong gorgeous daylily

3. Rogue Intense saturated pink.

4. Emerald Stardust Keeping this one adds possibilities to the gene pool .

Heather - that last seedling is outstanding! I absolutely LOVE it!

Alex

That was harder than I thought it would be, there are few more. Oops, I forgot my bee pollen daylily, I would keep that one too. I have at least a dozen new ones that haven’t bloomed yet, hopefully will see them this season, the list could change

Sherry

Signet - I have been lurking on this forum for over a year admiring everyone’s daylilies in secret. But I just had to post today to let you know that I think your last seedling is absolutely beautiful. Simply stunning. Wow!

Jo

(edited to add that I am looking forward to seeing everyone’s top 10 - hopefully it helps me whittle my want list to a reasonable number!)

Here are the 10 daylilies I could not leave behind if I moved to a smaller piece of land:

WILD CHERRY WINE: Love this Bud Bennett intro.

ARROGANT BASTARD: Tall, bud builder and doesn't melt in the sun. Fertile both ways.

DANCING WITH LINDA: Puts gold edges on dips. Look at I can't believe it's a dip website.

ISABELLE ROSE: Love this spidery one.

FRIEDA ALLEN JERRELL: Love the cooling effect that this has in the garden. I also love the appliquéd eye.

JERRY HYATT: What a performer. It also has many different looks, depending on the temperature.

CHILLED ORANGE SORBET: There is a lot going on with this bloom: ruffles, etching in the throat, nice round bloom with wide sepals.

HOT SEAT: Just because I find it obnoxious and I am always in that seat during bloom season with my wife.

EMERALD STARBURST: Striking garden specimen.

CLOWN PARADE: Bi color that does very well for me.

Ask me tomorrow and there might be some different ones. I thought about breaking it down to the ten dips and the 10 tets.

David

Gurgle! I am drowning in my own drool! Sherry Wanda Lou Lovely ....Wow !

Cheese and Wine and Boy Crazy .....all have gone on my list of "wanna ,gotta" list and completely understand why you couldn't leave them behind . The others are lookers too .

Celeste , you are so funny ( having Hubby sneak back to get more at night ) I had this visual and nearly rolled off my chair just thinking about it ! LOL !

I know it would be tough for all of us to have to leave behind so many lovelies but this is a good exercise (I think) . I was not surprised with most of what you chose , but I was surprised on the one hand about Golliwog. It is a unique bloom shape and the only reason I didnt choose that one is the color or should I say lack of color. I think I have mentioned before that I love intense colors . It is just a personal preference ,That being said I have always loved it and might just have to get my hubby to join your hubby in a midnight roundup for daylilies ! Ha ha ha

I have never seen Liberty Banner before ......it is wonderful, wonder why the seller stopped selling it .I looked it up on AHS and it is right up my alley. Where does Weitz live in the US ? and

Last but not least OOOF ....well you know how I feel about that one , and vice versa , so I knew it would be somewhere on your list . Drool! I found it offered in the US so have an email out to the seller to see what is what about getting it here.

Oh my , David , Wild Cherry Wine and Clown Parade ......love 'em ! I just ordered Isabelle Rose to add to my gardens , think I will enjoy that one . It is a stretch for me as I normally focus on intense colors but am trying to expand my repertoire. We both could not leave Emerald Stardust behind . I have only seen 3 blooms on mine ( it is new) a single bloom at a time so am hoping it will explode into major stardust here this year. Love your explanation about "Hot Seat" . I think all of us daylily growers become obscessed during daylily time . I think I have been on the "Hot Seat " more than a few times with my hubby....but I think he has subsided into acceptance now. He knows nothing else will work LOL ! I have also ordered Jerry Hyatt so enjoyed seeing your picture . It is one I have wanted to add for sometime but somehow got put on the back burner , probably for John Lambert cultivars.

jo_pyeweed , I second Celeste's invitation . Come and join us , share your thoughts. The more the merrier and all insights are appreciated . Now that you have broken the ice , I hope to see you posting . Thanks so very much for your nice complment on my daylily seedling .

signet, I surprised you with Golliwog, huh? LOL. As for Liberty Banner, the hybridizer Christine Weitz is in New York state. She used to have a website and sell her intros which is when I went on a buying frenzy and got it, along with many others....(Spirit of the Dove as well, which is one of my top 10 too). She told me she was getting out of the online selling and her website is gone. Her intros do very well in my cold climate.

I sure hope you can get Olly. I had a 'runner-up' list of daylilies that I would send DH out in the night to dig up when the new owners of my house were asleep, and just for fun, I will list them. No way would I leave these behind so we would have to be sneaky. Wispy Rays, Marque Moon (for a late-bloomer), Planet Claire, Incendiary and Stargate Portal. They're coming too.

Welcome, jo_pyeweed. I lurked here for a couple of years before I started posting. Now I look forward to checking in every day to see what's been posted.

Signet, this is an almost impossible task, and like somebody else said, this list would change every day.

Out of the almost 1000 varieties we grow, I picked these 10.

In my opinion, Bass Gibson is one of the best toothies out there. It's consistently beautiful and a good seed setter too. I love the color also.

Bodacious Bite never has a bad hair day. It's a pretty good seed setter and I think it has breeding potential based on its illustrious parents, Forestlake Ragamuffin and Fooled Me.

I picked one seedling--Empire of Dawn and Dusk X Ruby Lipstick. We are planning on introducing this one as soon as it increases enough, hopefully by 2020. It has a decent budcount, good height, and a clean background color with a magenta eye. Last summer it showed instant rebloom as well. I can't wait to see what it does this year now that it is in a clump. It has been used extensively in breeding and we will see some of its babies bloom this summer.

I love Chico Tim because of the fanciness of the flower. It performs well for us even though it is southern bred.

I picked First Addiction because of its color. Like all of Richard Norris's plants, it is going to be a good grower in our garden, but the color is what intrigues me.

We grow several Harding daylilies but we think Forestlake Point Lace is one of the best. We don't use it often for breeding (and in fact, it is a very difficult pod parent because of deformed pistils) because we don't breed for yellows, but it always puts on a show and it's pretty early too.

Geometric Wizard is relatively new to the garden, but it has rushed to the top of the list of favorites. The colors in the eye and the shape of the eye are amazing. It never has a bad hair day and is weather resistant.

I had to put another toothy on the list so I chose Interview with a Vampire. The flowers aren't very large and it's not very tall, but I like the fact it has an eye with big teeth. I have some interesting seedlings out of it too.

Sam Abell is another of Richard Norris's plants that is excellent in a northern garden. This might be his best tetraploid. The width of the edge is amazing.

Do not buy Tom Adams if you live in the north unless you have a heated greenhouse to overwinter it. It is tender. We have kept it going for years because of the color. Tom Adams has been my inspiration for a breeding program. I hope to get a northern hardy one with its richness and depth of color. I haven't succeeded yet, but have had success at finding a few northern hardy ones with similar color to work with.

That was a hard thing to do, but based on my choices, I think you can see that I value teeth and eyes and edges most.

Nancy

Nan , thanks for taking the time to post your selections. I know , it is an almost impossible task to choose only 10 and I also acknowledge that choices might be different at a different time or different day. I think we all probably , push come to shove , simply could not pick only 10 plants but it is a good exercise to reinforce why we like what we like . I find for me it helps me to focus . I can be a bit of a scatterbrain at times and pick plants willy nilly and am sometimes very disappointed in my selections . I think it was Maryl who said she likes to see the pictures but appreciates even more the info on the performance of plants . I have to agree with her.

Picking only 10 is a good exercise to make us all think a little bit harder as to what traits we want in a daylily and why we like them . You in particular are excellent in sharing your experiences with the plants you grow . You know the traits you want and share the good the bad and the ugly and that is valuable info for the rest of us. Thanks . Celeste also does this really well . I on the other hand am not so good at expressing my thoughts along these lines.

I love your seedling .....it shows lovely clear colors , no muddiness there . Just lovely. I had not ever heard of Chico Tim ......again lovely clear colors and form is very very attractive. Geometric Wizard ,,,,eye candy for sure .Sam Abell ....being a norther gardener , you have no idea how wonderful it is to know that this plant grows and performs well in a northern garden.

Now I get to do something I love to do: make lists - LOL. I've been looking at all these daylily images for the past year now. I have yet to actually see any of these in person; that's how new this is to me. My budget is limited, and it would take decades to try to collect even an "nth" of a percentage of those which have "wowed me" on these pages. But I can dream. :) And if I were to choose 10 from just this thread, it would be these, in no particular order: (1) Signet's last seedling, which has just about everything I could wish for - the coloring, patterned eye, delicate and elegant edging. If she told me it was large flowered and increased like bunnies, this would definitely put it way at the top of my list! (2) Jerry Hyatt and (3) Claudine's Charm - I can't see either of these without loving that blue purple coloration. Oh, and add (4)Indian Giver - for the same reason. (5) Geometric Wizard - patterns are, I think, the way I want to go with my hybridizing program, and this one is exceptional. I just bought Creative Design, a Gossard broken patterned DL and wish I could afford to pick up Pattern Breaker, but maybe next year...(6) now it gets difficult...I've just about come to the conclusion that anything that has the word "Orchid" in the name is going to be a knockout - ha! So, Orchid Octopus is probably one. (7) And Crystalline Entity has been impressing me everytime, too, so add it to the list (8) Golliwog - gotta have the form (9) Wild Cherry Wine, because David has convinced me that I need Bennetts, and all I have is Sweet Tart (haven't gotten to see it bloom yet - oh, the anticipation...) (10) the last is exceptionally difficult, but I suppose I would have to choose a red, because I'd need a good red - but which to choose? Arrogant Bastard is a knockout, but honestly - who would name a flower something like that? :) And I see the AHS is calling it burgundy rather than red, so let's go with Marietta Warrior, though, Celeste - why are you saying "he"? Clearly a "she" - strong, proud and kick-ass feminist - LOL!
Alex

OMG signet your seedlings are fabulous, I can see why they are in your top 10! Have you named them? You must have at least thought of some names. You should feel incredibly accomplished!

I will be looking especially at the ones posted by those of you close to my zone. They are all wonderful. I am always drawn to the coloration of Geometric Wizard, but then I love all colours, not a single one I would not want.

peren.all Thanks for your kind comments on my seedlings . When I think of the thousand plus seedlings that I have grown over the years , to end up with about 25 that I am closely watching for performance and substance, bud counts and the many other attributes that make up a good daylily, I think, boy that is not a great percentage . However , some of the left overs that dont necessarily meet my hybridizing goals have found homes with other people so that is a good thing . I keep putting off composting the others in hopes of finding homes for them but I really need the garden space for other seeds I need to plant so that may change this year. I have a mini fridge chock full of seeds .

As for naming the seedlings, some have garden names some not yet . Names seem to come to me a bit at a time . I don't post the names online . I think it is Debra (shive) who can tell you what sometimes happens with garden names posted online . It is not a good thing.

Celeste, Signet, Nancy - thank you for the warm welcome! Celeste - I remember you from the days when you posted on the Rose forum. CelestialRose, right?

I, too, appreciate information on plant performance that so many of you include with your dazzling pictures. As a newbie and someone who is trying to determine what daylilies will work best for me - we have cool summers and blooms struggle to open and fail to display colors and patterns - the performance information is invaluable. So, thank you!

okay, so I will play. I only have 15 daylilies and 12 of them I acquired last spring so I will only pick one daylily.

Pookie Bear - not a great fan of the color but it blooms from mid-May to the end of November. The 2.5-3 inch blooms never fail to open. It makes me happy -

Garden shot -

Jo

Signet, all of your seedlings are lovely, but the last one is outstanding. The background color is so clean, the eye is an interesting shape with the midribs and the shape of the bloom really sets it apart. If this were available commercially, it would be on my short list. I would cross it with my seedling hoping to improve the shape of the eye of mine.

Nancy

David, what zone are you in and does Hot Seat grow well for you?

There's no "hot seat" in our garden when it comes to daylilies but I sure would grow that variety. Bob and I enable each other's obsession. That's why we have nearly 1000 varieties and more seeds than we know what to do with. I just got finished planting the first 200 with only about 4000+ more to go. I don't know where we are going to put them all.

Nancy

Jo, that’s a lovely garden shot, keep sharing with us!

samhain, if you want a nice, cheaper, easy to find red, Ruby Spider is your best bet. Remember, Celeste had a hard time choosing between it and the red she did pick, I love mine, huge blooms.

Sherry

Nancy, you are sooooo lucky to share your passion with your hubby. Mine keeps saying " don't you think you have enough gardens yet ? " He may be right but I would so love to hear him say " don't you think you can squeeze one more daylily in there ?" Instead I also hear him say that the gardens are too convoluted and it makes mowing the lawn difficult . Oh well, I dont like car racing so there ya go. I guess it works both ways but it sure would be nice to have someone to share this passion .

Sherry do you have a picture of your bee pollen seedling . I would love to see it if you are willing to share.

hoosier_nan

I am in Zone 5 and HOT SEAT performs better for me than its parent HOT LAVA.

David

Jo_pyeweed ,,,,,,I love the look of Pookie Bear . The color is "interesting" to me . The plant sounds like a good one .......but for me it isnt tall enough ( I love tall daylilies ......the taller the better . So glad you decided to join all of us "daylily enthusiasts" .

Sherry - Ruby Spider is a nice one; I'll keep it in mind since it's on your favorite 10 list.

Alex

Signet, here’s my bee pollen daylily. This was its third summer blooming, the first year the blooms were not consistently the same shape. Last season the shape and color saturation was good from bloom to bloom. It’s blooming in almost total shade.

Very pretty daylily Sherry I can see why you would take it with you .From your image it looks quite new and hard to tell the height is it very tall ? .....This also confirms why bee pod seeds should be planted too . I know the purists think that bee pods shouldn't be planted but I simply dont agree with that Again i defer to mother nature and think , if she thinks that seeds should be made she sends the insects and they in turn do their thing . They may just know something we do not .

My guess for height is 24”. I didn’t plant the seeds, i must have missed a seed head during cleanup several years ago. The only daylily near it has 30” scapes a Red noid. I’m sure the seed head is from this one. I’m adding a photo of the parent, you can see the smaller daylily leaves left of it, the bee pollen plant. The first year it bloomed the flowers looked more like the parent.

Sherry

Well you certainly are not boring me !

Signet, I am in agreement with the others about your seedlings, especially the last one. If it's got good enough statistics, I hope you will register it.

Sherry, your bee pollen seedling is intriguing. All three of the photos you posted look entirely different from one another. If it ends up looking consistently like the first photo you posted (most recent?), I hope it performs well and I think you need to register it ... or send it to me and I'll register it in both our names ;-)

My brain is on fire--how to possibly trim down to 10! Well, I did it. My criteria:

**individual blooms are a favorite**gives at least a good if not excellent clump show

**consistently blooms well every year**I always look forward to it more than others

**preferably tall, but less important than the other features.

Vintage Wine--Has been a constant favorite since the 1980's, only had 1 bad bloom season due to extreme drought

Belle Isle Sentry: blooms first, then reblooms last, great show, huge number of buds

Fiordiligi

Carmen Renee-great show every year, awesome color.

Cherry Cheeks. Such a wonderful color. It does fail my criteria in that it is a bit short and some years not real prolific.

Fuchsia Dream great late performer

Smoky Mt. Autumn unrivaled color

South Seas

Peacock Maiden. It was truly hard to pick the 10th; so many contenders.

Honorable mentions, some of which were posted by some of you: Indian Giver, Joan Derifield--still new enough not to be in the top 10 but may be sometime, Wilson Spider, consistent great late, Metaphor [super great lavender, but so-so bloomer], Kent's Favorite 2 & Acquire the Fire-great reds; Karen's Curls with its awesome show every year; Siloam Amazing Grace, Primal Scream-doesn't increase much, not enough blooms; Joan Senior; Paige's Pinata--too tender and inconsistent; and my seedling 1, which had a good first year but must prove itself.

Brad , thanks for posting . Thanks to you my want list has gotten longer LOL ! have added Vintage Wine and especially Carmen Renee to my list . That of course is assuming I can find them here in Canada . I do grow Chance Encounter , Smoky Mountain Autumn, South Seas and Peacock Maiden and completely understand why you have chosen these ones .Wonderful plants all of them!

Signet-Vintage Wine is a Munson. That makes it more likely that it would be found there.